Monday, October 29, 2007

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Recipes Summary

Just in time for Halloween, I want to recap some of the gluten-free and wheat-free pumpkin-featuring recipes that I have made available both recently and over the past year online. These gluten-free recipes include everything from main-courses to side dishes to desserts, and pumpkin provides the Celiac-safe ingredient of inspiration for each creation.

Note: the hyperlinks (blue, underscored text) within the text below links to the page(s) with the actual recipes. I didn't want to repeat the full recipe text for each of these here, since it is just a click away already.

Now, since I am definitely a fan of gluten-free desserts, especially around the Holidays when there are ample excuses to bake some extra treats, let me start with those recipes.

Dessert Recipes

Gluten-Free Pumpkin RollA perennial favorite this time of year is the Gluten-Free Pumpkin Roll recipe. This particular pumpkin roll has that flavorful pumpkin spice-cake rolled around a layer of sweetened cream cheese filling. The whole creation is dusted with a bit of powdered sugar, and served chilled. What a fantastic way to enjoy that pumpkin!

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Pancakes
I don't know about you, but for me, Pancakes do count as a main course on more than a few occasions. So, here is one type of Gluten-Free Pumpkin Spice Pancake Recipe that I enjoy on occasion. I say "one type" because I tend to regularly vary the ingredients, especially the flours that I use, on a rather ad-hoc basis. Some days I'll use some Millet flour, other days will include Sorghum, and still others the Teff and Buckwheat (which IS safe for Celiac sufferers in its pure form - it is NOT a wheat, though it sounds like it). I also have a tendency to throw a few chocolate chips into the mix and turn the whole pancake into a giant cookie of sorts :)

Pumpkin as Pasta
I recently wrote a blog about using pumpkin as a "pasta" of sorts. As such, this dish works well as both a main course or a side dish - take your pick. Quite often, it is a wonderful low-calorie and healthy feature item for my dinner. It is simple to prepare, mild in flavor (primarily taking on the flavor of whatever pasta sauce you choose), and starts using pumpkin in its most basic form, without the usual pumpkin-pie spices many are accustomed to. This recipe relies on the basic baked-pumpkin recipe.

Standard Baked Pumpkin Recipe
I wrote this gluten-free blog entry just a while back, about how to prepare a small pumpkin-pie type pumpkin as a baked pumpkin for eating as you would any other baked squash. It is quite simple to take a pumpkin, "gut it", place it in the oven, and produce a healthy and satisfying dish (or foundation for other recipes). And, speaking of a foundation for other recipes, I'll move on to another recipe which features this baked pumpkin...

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Risotto
And now, for a wonderful pumpkin-accent side dish for the season, do not forget the Gluten-Free Pumpkin Risotto Recipe. It has a mild, pleasant flavor, with just a hint of cinnamon to go along with the very subtle pumpkin undertones. It relies on the baked pumpkin recipe again, though you could probably just as easily use canned pumpkin if you choose.

Happy Halloween!
Certainly all these recipes could make for some great Gluten-Free Thanksgiving Recipes as well, so keep them close at hand for any of those leftover pumpkins you may have sitting around in a month. I know I'll be feasting on various pumpkin recipes for the next few months, as I have already cooked up quite a pile of pumpkins and have frozen their cooked pulp for later. Happy Halloween everyone, and happy pumpkin eating too!

I have a question on a non-halloween squash. Do you have any good ideas for spaghetti squash? I have an enormous one frightening me in my kitchen. I am not even sure how to cook it since it looks too big to bake whole or cut in half.

Alisa,Yes, you can dig out the stringy, spaghetti-like pulp after cooking that spaghetti squash much like you would the baked-pumpkin recipe. Then, just serve it with spaghetti sauce or pesto as you would spaghetti. We just cut them in half, take out the seeds, and either bake or microwave them with a bit of water under the inverted halves. Being too large to do a half at once... well, I guess I'd just try to quarter it then, and be sure to keep enough water in the pan or whatever to keep it moist as it cooks. I really like those things! Good luck with baking that huge squash.

Unrelated I know, but I have a question about allowed foods for celiacs. Is chocolate suitable for celiacs or is there a certain type of chocolate needed or may I use dark chocolate instead of milk?Very nice blogThanks, Celia

Chocolate itself is perfectly fine, regardless of dark, milk, or white variety - BUT, you need to watch out for ingredients in the chocolate that could have gluten, or look for the possibility the chocolate was processed on shared equipment (with gluten-containing ingredients).

Chocolate is usually some combination of cocoa (or cocoa mass), cocoa butter or butter, sugar, and perhaps other milk products and flavoring (like vanilla). All of those things are fine, so long as they are pure and not contaminated with gluten during the processing. Best thing to do is simply look for chocolate that is clearly labeled gluten-free. I found that task much easier in the UK than here in the USA sadly. Perhaps that will change in the next few years.

In your pumpkin roll recipe, you call for ¼ Cup Glutinous Rice Flour. What is "glutinous" rice flour? I've never heard of it. What company makes it and where can I get it? I am anxious to try this recipe for my daughter. She loves anything pumpkin. We were recently at a party where a pumpkin roll was served that was not gluten free (so she couldn't have any) she was so sad. She will be so excited to have her own! Thanks for such a lovely blog!

Thanks for stopping by, and enjoy the pumpkin roll. I made attempts at answering the common recipe questions on my gluten-free recipe library by making sure my first "recipe" in the list there was the Important Gluten-Free Baking Recipe Conventions document. Take a look at that for notes helpful to baking GF in general.

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Gluten-Free Blog by Mike Eberhart

Like all gluten-free / Celiac persons, I want to live life to the fullest and not feel encumbered by the dietary constraints of a lifelong disease. I hope this GlutenFree Blog helps you quickly make the transition to an enjoyable and fulfilling life as you adapt to Celiac Disease and find safe and delicious alternatives for your new gluten-free diet.

Note: This site is not intended for use as a source of health, medical, legal, or professional advice, and I assume no responsibility for errors, inaccuracies, omissions, or any thing else resulting from you reading this blog.